Color enhancement for Mavic Mini?

[KiloMeater]

^ good example
see how the reflections are removed from the surface of the water allowing you to see the deep colors

I always use my PL filter when near water, with drone or my DSLR.

 

[Vapor069]

wow that looks amazing!

Thank you!

 

[Tolly]

You most definitely can not achieve in post processing the effects of a polarizer. If you fly over water at the right angle the water may be vibrant and transparent with, or full of reflections and washed out without; there is no way you can bring that info back in post.

True that you can not always get the Max effect from the polarizer on a drone, but still in does make a big difference in some cases, most noticeable being over water and blue skies from the right angle.
That works the same both for stills and video

Fair point, we're always learning.

 

[ff22]

Hi Paleomanjim,
I did it for you! Some color corrections and now it looks way better! What do you think about it?
cheers Paul

BTW ND filters do not at all change colors. They only regulate the light incidence on the sensor! The best one for sunny weather is ND 16 with 1/60 shutter speed and 30fps!

So, what app or program did you use to edit/enhance the colors?

 

[ff22]

Not sure if ND filters would help improve the natural colors in videos like this. The video was taken last week at a scenic view point for Craters of the Moon NM in Idaho. While driving I usually am wearing sunglasses and often notice that scenery looks much more vibrant while wearing glasses, colors more intense and clouds more distinctive. No idea why that is, but when I remove my sunglasses the scene never looks as impressive. I bought a set of ND filters for my Mavic Mini a month ago and tried them out for several flights but did not like using manual settings for long videos because of changing light conditions during a flight. Great for photos perhaps. My understanding is that the ND filters are primarily used for motion blur and I actually prefer the sharper image without the blur so I have not used them since. The reviews I read state that ND filters do nothing to improve contrast or color enhancement. That is probably true, but curious how wearing sunglasses appear to do just that. And the ND filters are just sunglasses for the camera. In any case, the video below is a bit washed out compared to what I was actually seeing wearing sunglasses. Not sure if there are any other tricks to getter better colors. I have not tried using the white balance, perhaps that might help. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Neat video and I liked Jack's fix. I was probably there about 50 years ago and I don't think another blade of grass sprouted up! (g). I do recall being amazed by the area.

 

[Paleomanjim]

I just finished editing another video from our recent camping trip to Wymong, Montana and Idaho. This video did not need much color enhancement because the area if full of vibrant colors, but I added a bit of saturation to enhance the colors. Super easy to do. The iMovie has several icons on the upper left and I discovered that clicking on the one that looks like a film reel brings up 3 adjustment bars where the intensity can be adjusted by sliding the bar right or left of center. Really surprised at how effective the adjustment is, just had to be careful to not overdue it! Again, thanks Jack for the video that inspired me to give it a try.

 

[Jack43]

Again, thanks Jack for the video that inspired me to give it a try.

you´r welcome!

 

[Jack43]

So, what app or program did you use to edit/enhance the colors?

I work with Edius 8.5! It´s a powefull editing tool, but it´s not cheap!
cheers Paul

 

[jumpingbean]

I sincerely recommend DaVinci Resolve for color enhancements. It’s used by Hollywood professionals and it’s totally free.

 

[RogerDH]

So, has anyone tested those contrast, sharpness and saturation controls in Litchi yet?

 

[Jack43]

I sincerely recommend DaVinci Resolve for color enhancements. It’s used by Hollywood professionals and it’s totally free.

Hi jumpingbean,
right! It´s an amazing and powerfull editing/grading tool! But for someone which is new on Resolve there is a lot to learn, as on many other editing programs. I played around for about 3 months with DaVinci and by now I can work quite well with it!
I have the free version!
cheers Paul

 

[jumpingbean]

Have you tested those with an actual video yet? I know you said you could see the screen view changing when you set those, but the SDK is just a gateway to code that's already in the Mini's firmware, so it's surprising that the SDK would support features that DJI Fly doesn't.

I can confirm that Litchi unlocks the video controls and it's possible to achieve a somewhat flat profile that gives that extra headroom to tweak the colors in post. See for yourself. The one on the left is from Litchi with Contrast -3, Saturation -2 and Sharpness -1. The other one is the original profile from DJI Fly.

 

[ff22]

I just finished editing another video from our recent camping trip to Wymong, Montana and Idaho. This video did not need much color enhancement because the area if full of vibrant colors, but I added a bit of saturation to enhance the colors. Super easy to do. The iMovie has several icons on the upper left and I discovered that clicking on the one that looks like a film reel brings up 3 adjustment bars where the intensity can be adjusted by sliding the bar right or left of center. Really surprised at how effective the adjustment is, just had to be careful to not overdue it! Again, thanks Jack for the video that inspired me to give it a try.

Nicely done. I will have to look at iMovie now that I have an ipad mini although I'm not keen on editing on small screens!

 

[Paleomanjim]

Nicely done. I will have to look at iMovie now that I have an ipad mini although I'm not keen on editing on small screens!

Hope it works out for you. I previously used Windows movie Maker years ago, then switched to iMovie when I got a MacBook Air and it took a bit to get use to it, but I really like it now.

 

[Jack43]

Again, thanks Jack for the video that inspired me to give it a try.

Hi Jim,
I got another good tip for you! When you are shooting a landscape which shows many different details as for example trees, ponds and so on it is the betterchoise to fly backwards! Why? Well if you fly backwards the details will appear in the image. You reveal more and more details and that is the more interesting way to show a landscape.

If you fli forward one can see all the details and nothing is really changing, except that the details will appear bigger little by little, but the content of the image is more or less always the same!

There are of course exceptions as for example the opening shot in your „Grand Tetons“ video. One can see the foreground which are tiny shrubs. In the distance we see a mountain range. In this shot it doesen´t make a difference if you fly back or forward!

The following shot looks way better shown backwards. The third shot is also a backwards one and has many details to reveal.
Try also to make some closeup shots from time to time from a higher position without to move the drone. A mix of wide, near and closup shots makes the video more interesting to watch.
This were only my two cents
cheers Paul
BTW, if you have any questions about video shooting/editing I´m your hotline

Here the short video with the backwards shots:

 

[Matt M PA]

I'd also add to use the zebra bars or over exposure warnings. Drop your exposure just a bit to get rid of..or some of....the zebra bars. I've been in video production my entire life, and we've found it's easier to bring up a slightly underexposed area in post, compared to the image lost due to being over blown.

I do use filters on my Mini and Evo II Pro.The ND filters can help you get closer to the "double frame rate"for your shutter. They won't effect your video sharpness...but the motion will look more natural. I also have the polarizing filters but haven't experimented much with them.

 

[ff22]

Hi Jim,
I got another good tip for you! When you are shooting a landscape which shows many different details as for example trees, ponds and so on it is the betterchoise to fly backwards! Why? Well if you fly backwards the details will appear in the image. You reveal more and more details and that is the more interesting way to show a landscape.

If you fli forward one can see all the details and nothing is really changing, except that the details will appear bigger little by little, but the content of the image is more or less always the same!

There are of course exceptions as for example the opening shot in your „Grand Tetons“ video. One can see the foreground which are tiny shrubs. In the distance we see a mountain range. In this shot it doesen´t make a difference if you fly back or forward!

The following shot looks way better shown backwards. The third shot is also a backwards one and has many details to reveal.
Try also to make some closeup shots from time to time from a higher position without to move the drone. A mix of wide, near and closup shots makes the video more interesting to watch.
This were only my two cents
cheers Paul
BTW, if you have any questions about video shooting/editing I´m your hotline

Here the short video with the backwards shots:

Hi Jim,
I got another good tip for you! When you are shooting a landscape which shows many different details as for example trees, ponds and so on it is the betterchoise to fly backwards! Why? Well if you fly backwards the details will appear in the image. You reveal more and more details and that is the more interesting way to show a landscape.

If you fli forward one can see all the details and nothing is really changing, except that the details will appear bigger little by little, but the content of the image is more or less always the same!

There are of course exceptions as for example the opening shot in your „Grand Tetons“ video. One can see the foreground which are tiny shrubs. In the distance we see a mountain range. In this shot it doesen´t make a difference if you fly back or forward!

The following shot looks way better shown backwards. The third shot is also a backwards one and has many details to reveal.
Try also to make some closeup shots from time to time from a higher position without to move the drone. A mix of wide, near and closup shots makes the video more interesting to watch.
This were only my two cents
cheers Paul
BTW, if you have any questions about video shooting/editing I´m your hotline

Here the short video with the backwards shots:

So do you tend to actually fly backwards or do you just reverse the video when editing? Or do you use both techniques?.

 

[Jack43]

If there are any moving subjects like a car I reverse it in the editing!
cheers Paul

 

[Paleomanjim]

I'd also add to use the zebra bars or over exposure warnings. Drop your exposure just a bit to get rid of..or some of....the zebra bars. I've been in video production my entire life, and we've found it's easier to bring up a slightly underexposed area in post, compared to the image lost due to being over blown.

I do use filters on my Mini and Evo II Pro.The ND filters can help you get closer to the "double frame rate"for your shutter. They won't effect your video sharpness...but the motion will look more natural. I also have the polarizing filters but haven't experimented much with them.

To be honest I have seen the Zebra bars a few times and never knew what they were, good to know that tip and will use that advice, thanks.

 

[Paleomanjim]

Hi Jim,
I got another good tip for you! When you are shooting a landscape which shows many different details as for example trees, ponds and so on it is the betterchoise to fly backwards! Why? Well if you fly backwards the details will appear in the image. You reveal more and more details and that is the more interesting way to show a landscape.

If you fli forward one can see all the details and nothing is really changing, except that the details will appear bigger little by little, but the content of the image is more or less always the same!

There are of course exceptions as for example the opening shot in your „Grand Tetons“ video. One can see the foreground which are tiny shrubs. In the distance we see a mountain range. In this shot it doesen´t make a difference if you fly back or forward!

The following shot looks way better shown backwards. The third shot is also a backwards one and has many details to reveal.
Try also to make some closeup shots from time to time from a higher position without to move the drone. A mix of wide, near and closup shots makes the video more interesting to watch.
This were only my two cents
cheers Paul
BTW, if you have any questions about video shooting/editing I´m your hotline

Here the short video with the backwards shots:

Good stuff, and again much appreciated Jack. I have been getting use to the backward shots and have been considering it more recently when planning my videos. It certainly does have appeal to see things appear in backward progression that you cannot see coming. I think we have similar taste in music too, really like your choice. Choosing music to match the scene can be a real challenge also! The stuff available on Youtube really lacks quality. Some of the free music sites are better, but not much and most of it sounds like it was done electronically and lacks appeal. After listening to 20 or more tunes I usually just give up and go with something that is OK, but not great. There has to be a better way to match video scenes to music. Any tips out there?